DRINKING WATER
Keep Your Cool: The Importance Of Advanced Side Stream Filtration In Data Center Operation
Advanced side stream filtration protects sensitive cooling infrastructure in data centers, extending membrane life, reducing water and energy use, and preventing costly downtime caused by particulate-loaded cooling water.
DRINKING WATER CASE STUDIES AND WHITE PAPERS
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The Best Way To Remove Manganese From Drinking Water
Manganese has the potential to become a primary contaminant in the future. Therefore, cost-effective methods for removing it are an important consideration when treating drinking water.
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Harness The Power Of One Bacterium To Remove PFAS From The Environment
Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are a family of synthetic organic molecules, which are not naturally occurring in nature. Due to the strong carbon-fluorine bond present in these molecules, they are especially long-lived once released into the environment and are resistant to regular chemical remediation methods.
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Burnsville Becomes First Metro System With On-Site Hypochlorite Generation
When Linda Mullen took over as water superintendent in Burnsville in 2007, the city was in the process of adding surface‐water treatment to its existing plant. Burnsville began purchasing water from the nearby Kraemer Mining and Materials quarry, both to supplement its supply and to help the quarry meet discharge permits.
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New EPA PFAS Limits: Why Small Water Utilities Need Not Fear Them
Smaller water utilities may be in a panic over the EPA's proposed federal limits on PFAS, but there are two reasons for these smaller utilities to remain hopeful.
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Disinfecting Drinking Water – Chlorination And Chlorine Testing
This article explores the water treatment process, with a specific focus on disinfection and how Palintest’s Lumiso Expert photometer can ensure this process is managed efficiently.
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Wastewater Treatment and Reuse - Lake Arrowhead, California
In 2000, the district’s average water demand was 2.3 million gallons per day (MGD) (363 m3/hr) and was estimated to grow over 20% by 2030. Unfortunately, there was not a sufficient or permanent reliable source of supply to meet future demands.
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LTE-M Standard Redefines Cellular Efficiency For Water Meter Readings
The term “cellular” often calls to mind certain assumptions and limitations based on prior experience with consumer cellphone networks. Don’t confuse cellular-based Internet of Things (IoT) applications with past cellular experiences, though. The relatively new Long Term Evolution for Machines (LTE-M) standard represents a whole new ballgame. In short, “This is not your father’s cellular network.”
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Dewatering Never Sounded So Good: Noise Management At Metropolitan Utility Repair Sites
When the jobsite is in an urban or metropolitan area measures must be taken to try to minimize the perception of nuisance or harm. Utility contractors face this situation often when they are called to make repairs.
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Treating Contaminated Groundwater: Advanced Iron Removal System
The City of Belleville, Ontario, planned on re-developing downtown waterfront property into a public space, but there was one problem: the history of the site had led to groundwater contamination.
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Optimizing Water Utility Operations Through Data-Driven Insights
Limited visibility into distribution networks can cause issues like undetected leaks and billing inaccuracies. AMI and analytics can provide continuous monitoring for improved anomaly detection and prioritized actions.
DRINKING WATER APPLICATION NOTES
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Pile Cloth Media Filtration Removes 97% Of Microplastics From Wastewater12/6/2023
Learn about filtering microplastics from industrial wastewater prior to discharge, and how this is one way to effectively reduce the volume of this waste material from entering our surface water.
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Real-Time Water Quality Data For Agriculture9/23/2020
We arm farmers with mission-critical water data to help enhance crop yield and taste. KETOS delivers valuable insights for fluctuations in deficiency and toxicity.
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Fountain Testing Solutions10/29/2021
Accurate fountain (dampening) solution concentration control is essential for consistent, high-quality results in lithography. Low concentration can cause drying on the non-image area of the plate resulting in tinting, scumming, blanket piling, etc. High concentrations, on the other hand, bring about over-emulsification of the ink. This results in weakening of color strength and changes in ink rheology (body and flow properties). Correct concentration will allow the non-image areas of the plate to be appropriately wetted.
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Network Monitors Water Quality In Shale Gas Drilling Region9/2/2011High-pressure injection of water, sand, and chemicals that fracture shale deposits deep underground to free trapped natural gas is employed by drillers tapping the Marcellus shale beds, a geologic deposit that stretches from central New York to Virginia and contains gas believed to be worth hundreds of billions of dollars. By YSI
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Immediate pH Correction For Fluctuating Flow2/19/2014
In a number of water, wastewater and industrial process applications, pH is one of the most critical and highly sensitive analytical measurements. Examples of critical pH applications include: Reverse Osmosis (RO) systems in which a controlled feed of caustic solution is typically added to the feed stream in order to convert a portion of dissolved carbon dioxide into bicarbonate precipitate allowing for removal by the RO membrane. By Rafik H. Bishara, Steve Jacobs, and Dan Bell
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LC-MS Analysis Of 33 PFAS Compounds In 5 Minutes11/4/2021
In response to environmental testing demands for faster LC-MS analyses, the new Ascentis® Express PFAS HPLC and delay columns allow the highly efficient separation of 33 PFAS compounds in 5 minutes with reduced background contamination.
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LC-MS Analysis Of PFAS Compounds In EPA 533 After Supelclean™ ENVI-WAX SPE Cleanup8/29/2022
This application note demonstrates the extraction and subsequent analysis of 25 related analytes from water using Supelco SPE cartridges.
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Panametrics Technology Helps Track Potable Water Leaks4/22/2022
Concerned about the volume of water leakages throughout their network, a Swedish water authority turned to Panametrics flowmeters to map their municipal water network -- enabling quick leak identification and fixes.
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Municipal Real-Time Water Quality Monitoring9/24/2020
We arm municipalities with actionable data necessary to make informed decisions about water quality in their communities
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Performance Test Services For UV Advanced Oxidation Systems12/1/2025
UV AOP performance verification requires a robust test matrix covering design, operating, and control conditions. This process includes on-site execution, sample analysis, and troubleshooting to achieve successful regulatory approval.
LATEST INSIGHTS ON DRINKING WATER
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Amid the AI-fueled gold rush, more leaders are beginning to pay attention to the short- and long-term natural resource concerns, especially around all the water needed to keep data centers running.
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Water pricing often fails to reflect scarcity, quality, or long-term risk, forcing companies to act internally. But this action is not being done in a vacuum. The ripple effect of internal water pricing is bound to impact water utilities, and ultimately, ratepayers and consumers.
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Misinformation and confusion could prevent some utilities from benefitting from the aqueous film-forming foam multidistrict litigation (AFFF MDL) settlements. Here are five common myths about the AFFF MDL PFAS settlements and how public water systems can make the most of this unprecedented funding opportunity.
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Every year on November 19, Water Mission observes World Toilet Day — a day designated by the United Nations to focus on the importance of safe sanitation for all.
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Global Water Outcomes expert notes that “water utilities are facing unprecedented challenges and opportunities,” citing the role of digital solutions moving forward.
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In this Q&A, Dr. Elke Süss of Metrohm addresses the urgent need for haloacetic acid testing in response to “one of the most significant updates to EU drinking water monitoring in recent years.”
ABOUT DRINKING WATER
In most developed countries, drinking water is regulated to ensure that it meets drinking water quality standards. In the U.S., the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) administers these standards under the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA).
Drinking water considerations can be divided into three core areas of concern:
- Source water for a community’s drinking water supply
- Drinking water treatment of source water
- Distribution of treated drinking water to consumers
Drinking Water Sources
Source water access is imperative to human survival. Sources may include groundwater from aquifers, surface water from rivers and streams and seawater through a desalination process. Direct or indirect water reuse is also growing in popularity in communities with limited access to sources of traditional surface or groundwater.
Source water scarcity is a growing concern as populations grow and move to warmer, less aqueous climates; climatic changes take place and industrial and agricultural processes compete with the public’s need for water. The scarcity of water supply and water conservation are major focuses of the American Water Works Association.
Drinking Water Treatment
Drinking Water Treatment involves the removal of pathogens and other contaminants from source water in order to make it safe for humans to consume. Treatment of public drinking water is mandated by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in the U.S. Common examples of contaminants that need to be treated and removed from water before it is considered potable are microorganisms, disinfectants, disinfection byproducts, inorganic chemicals, organic chemicals and radionuclides.
There are a variety of technologies and processes that can be used for contaminant removal and the removal of pathogens to decontaminate or treat water in a drinking water treatment plant before the clean water is pumped into the water distribution system for consumption.
The first stage in treating drinking water is often called pretreatment and involves screens to remove large debris and objects from the water supply. Aeration can also be used in the pretreatment phase. By mixing air and water, unwanted gases and minerals are removed and the water improves in color, taste and odor.
The second stage in the drinking water treatment process involves coagulation and flocculation. A coagulating agent is added to the water which causes suspended particles to stick together into clumps of material called floc. In sedimentation basins, the heavier floc separates from the water supply and sinks to form sludge, allowing the less turbid water to continue through the process.
During the filtration stage, smaller particles not removed by flocculation are removed from the treated water by running the water through a series of filters. Filter media can include sand, granulated carbon or manufactured membranes. Filtration using reverse osmosis membranes is a critical component of removing salt particles where desalination is being used to treat brackish water or seawater into drinking water.
Following filtration, the water is disinfected to kill or disable any microbes or viruses that could make the consumer sick. The most traditional disinfection method for treating drinking water uses chlorine or chloramines. However, new drinking water disinfection methods are constantly coming to market. Two disinfection methods that have been gaining traction use ozone and ultra-violet (UV) light to disinfect the water supply.
Drinking Water Distribution
Drinking water distribution involves the management of flow of the treated water to the consumer. By some estimates, up to 30% of treated water fails to reach the consumer. This water, often called non-revenue water, escapes from the distribution system through leaks in pipelines and joints, and in extreme cases through water main breaks.
A public water authority manages drinking water distribution through a network of pipes, pumps and valves and monitors that flow using flow, level and pressure measurement sensors and equipment.
Water meters and metering systems such as automatic meter reading (AMR) and advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) allows a water utility to assess a consumer’s water use and charge them for the correct amount of water they have consumed.